Brush



BRUSH Arthur E. Sieloff, Sturgis, Mich.

Application August 10, 1955, Serial No. 527,496

2 Claims. (Cl. 15-185) This invention relates to a brush and more particularly to a sanitary brush and brush case assembly.

It is frequently desirable to have a brush which can be carried on the person and which will be kept in a sanitary condition at all times when not in use. Of necessity, such a brush must be quite small in size so that it can be carried, for example, in a pocket, yet it must be easily usable. Therefore, it is desirable that a case be provided for the brush, which case not only serves to keep dirt or the like away from the bristles but also is adapted to act as a handle so that the brush may be conveniently used. This problem has long been recognized and many attempts have been made to provide a successful solution to the problem. However, insofar as I am aware, these prior art constructions have not found great commercial acceptance because they were too complicated and therefore too expensive for the average consumer or because they did not perform adequately in service.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a brush which can be received within a case when not in use to protect the brush from unsanitary conditions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a brush and a foldable casing for the brush in which a part of the casing provides a handle for the brush when 1n use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a brush and a foldable casing therefore, as aforesaid, in which the handle portion of the casing is firmly and reliably held in position when the brush is in use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a pocket brush and a casing therefore which is inexpensive to manufacture and reliable in use.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those acquainted with this type of article upon reading the following description and inspecting the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an oblique view of the brush and brush case of this invention in which the brush case is in its closed or carrying condition.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3, with the brush in its open, or use position.

In meeting the objects and purposes of my invention, as well as others related thereto, I have provided, in general, a two-part case for a brush. One of the parts is a cup-shaped member adapted to cover the bristles of the brush when it is not being used and adapted to be used as a handle when the brush is in use. The two parts of the brush are hingedly connected along the side edges thereof. Resilient means are provided to releasably hold the two parts in open or closed position.

Detailed description The brush and brush case assembly includes a cupnite States Patent O ICC shaped casing member 11. The cup-shaped member has a planar bottom wall 12 and side walls 13 and 14. The side walls extend approximately at, or slightly greater than, a right angle to the bottom wall and are of suficient depth that the brush bristles do not contact the bottom wall when the brush is in its non-use position with the case closed.

The cup-shaped member also has end walls 31 and 32. The end walls are turned inwardly at their upper edges to provide resilient, inwardly extending flanges 33 and 34.

'I'he rear edges of the end walls 31 and 32 extend beyond the plane defined by side wall 13. The extended portions 35 and 36 of the end walls are turned inwardly for purposes which will become apparent as this description proceeds. The upper edges of the end walls 31 and 32 are formed with opstanding ears 37 and 38 adjacent the rear edge thereof which ears journal the hinge pins as will subsequently be described.

vThe brush case also includes an upper member 18 which is generally planar and is adapted to extend between the sidewalls 13 and 14. The brush bristles 19 are mounted in the member 18.

A planar surface 29, parallel with the plane defined by the bristles is formed on the upper member so as to be parallel with the side wall 13 when the brush case is open (Figure 4).

The upper or brush carrying member 18 also has a llange 20 on the front edge thereof which overlies wall 14 when the brush is enclosed in the case to provide proper spacing of the bristles from wall 12. The flange 20 also provides a convenient means for opening the case. The rearward edge of the upper member is enlarged at 21 to provide a suitable mounting for the hinge pins.

The side edges of the upper member are provided with elongated grooves 22 and 23 intermediate the top and bottom surfaces of the upper member which grooves are adapted to receive the inwardly extending flanges 33 and 34 when the brush case is closed (Figure 3), and to receive the inwardly turned portions 35 and 36 when the brush case is open (Figure 4).

Hinge pins 25 and 26 are journaled in ears 37 and 38 and extend into the enlarged portion 19 for supporting the upper member 18 for pivotal movement between its open and closed position.

When the brush is not in use, the upper case member 18 will engage the cup-shaped member 11 and the flange 20 will overlie wall 14 to prevent entry of dirt or other undesirable matter into the case. As shown in Figure 4, the brush bristles do not contact bottom wall 12 when the brush case is closed. In the closed position of the brush case the inwardly turned flanges 33 and 34 lie in the grooves 22 and 23 and snugly but releasably hold the upper member in this position.

When it is desired to use the brush, the upper member 18 is pivoted about the hinge until wall 13 is approximately parallel with the upper member 18 and the inwardly turned extensions 35, 36 snap into the grooves 22 and 23. The slight curvature of the extensions 35, 36 and the flanges 33 and 34 gives in effect a snap lock and thereby prevent too easy a movement of the extensions and flanges into and out of the grooves. Thus, a slight force is necessary to deform the extensions 35, 36 and flanges 33 and 34 before such movement of the elements can take place. The casing members are firmly held in their open position, and, in normal use, will not accidentally come apart. The cup-shaped member 13 provides a convenient handle for the user to grasp.

Although the above mentioned drawings and description apply to one particular, preferred embodiment of my invention it is not my intention, implied or otherwise, to eliminate other modifications of the invention unless specifically stated to the contrary in the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim: 'Y

1. In a brush construction, the combination comprising: a generally rectangular brush', said brush being secured to a first casing member, said first casing member including a substantially planar surface parallel with the plane defined by the bristles of the brush and extending along substantially the entire length of said brush, said planar surface having a free edge'parallel with the longitudinal axis of said brush, a cup-shaped easing member adapted to cover the bristles of said brush in the closed position thereof and adapted to act as'a handle member in the open position thereof, said cup-shaped member having a substantially planar surface which lies parallel with said planar surface of said first casing member when said cup-shaped member is in its open position, said planar surface of said cup-shaped member having a free edge, a hinged connection between said free edges of said planar surfaces, a series of spaced deformable ange means formed on one of said planar surfaces and projecting substantially at right angles thereto, and a series of recesses formed in the other of said planar surfaces aligned with and adapted to releasably receive said flange means when said cup-shaped member is in its open position.

2. In a brush construction, the combination comprising: an elongated cup-shaped casing and handle member, said member including a pair of side walls, a bottom wall extending between said side walls, and a pair of end walls, said end walls having inwardly extending deformable flange portions on their upper edges, an extension of each of said end walls extending beyond one of said side walls, said extension having inwardly extending deformable flange means formed thereon; an upper casing member having side and end edges; a brush mounted in said upper casing member; hinge means connecting said upper casing member to said one side wall of said cup-shaped member; means defining a groove in the end edges of said upper member and adapted to receive said inwardly extending flange portions on the upper edge of the side walls when the brush case is closed and adapted to receive said inwardly extending flange means on said extensions when the brush case is open.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

